1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a toner container in an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a toner container utilized for image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc.
2. Related Background Arts
An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc. that deal with images, as known well, forms an image by forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum, having a toner as a black minute powder adsorbed corresponding to the formed electrostatic latent image and transferring a visible image onto a sheet of paper, etc.
The toner is consumed each time the image is formed and is therefore required to be properly supplied in response to a frequency of forming the image.
For stably supplying the toner, as disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open (Unexamined) publication No.2001-228692, the image forming apparatus is provided with a toner supply device, whereby the toner contained in the toner container is supplied.
This toner container takes a cylindrical shape having a helical groove formed in its internal surface, and is constructed to move the toner towards a replenishment port provided at an end portion thereof as it is rotated. The toner replenishment port is formed as, for example, a circular hole in the cylindrical surface at the endmost portion of the toner container, and a shutter for opening and closing this replenishment port as it slides in the axial directions of the toner container, is provided for preventing the toner from scattering.
In a toner container of this configuration, the toner should be continuously supplied from the toner replenishment port by simultaneously rotating the toner container.
Moreover, a rotational position of the toner container should be restricted to enable the container to be inserted and taken out within a certain given range so that the toner does not spill from the toner replenishment port directed sideways or downwards.
The Japanese Patent Application Laid-open publication 2001-228692 discloses a toner container that has a protrusion on the surface thereof. In this toner container, in the case where the protrusion directs upward toward the copy machine main body, the toner container can be attached to or detached from the copy machine main body.
However, in such scheme, the posture for enabling detaching is so limited that operability is not good because sometimes the toner container must be rotated nearly 360 degrees.
With an increase in recently-arising demands for forming the images, it is desired that a toner containing quantity per toner container be increased in response to a request for extending a toner exchange period, so that the container is filled with the toner to the proximity to the limit. On the other hand, with a request for downsizing the image forming apparatus, an interior of the image forming apparatus adopts a dense structure that educes an extra space or makes use of the space to the greatest possible degree.
Under such circumstances, if the toner container is inserted and taken out in the event of a paper jam and on the occasion of maintenance other than the toner exchange, the toner might be spilled and also scattered upon receiving a wind of a cooling fan for cooling the interior of the apparatus, depending on a position for inserting and taking the container out, resulting in a problem that a contamination in the interior of the apparatus and a malfunction of a sensor are induced.
Further, the toner container has hitherto been sold in a fashion of being packed one by one in the form of a toner cartridge as an expendable supply. The conventional toner container, however, has projections larger than a major diameter of the container body and therefore needs a larger packing configuration and a larger package than required. This was a factor for raising costs for preservation, transportation and so on.